A FORMER operative of the Department of State Services (DSS), Seyi Adetayo, has dismissed insinuations that kidnap of the students and teachers in Oyo State was planned within days after Governor Seyi Makinde declared his presidential declaration.
Adetayo, speaking on a television programme, said: “International terrorist organisations don’t plan operations within a day or two days. It can take them up to six months. These are professionals, and it’s something they’ve been doing for years.”
Adetayo added that security agencies relied heavily on intelligence and technology to identify those connected to the kidnapping network, adding that the DSS already had prior information on some suspects and subsequently traced their associates and family members across several states.
He stated that the operation involved identifying and arresting associates and close contacts linked to the suspects, which was part of the broader pressure mounted on the kidnappers, while authorities maintained communication with the group.
Adetayo described government’s refusal of the kidnappers’ demand for the release of one of their kingpins facing prosecution as a significant national security decision, stressing that authorities remained strategic and persistent throughout the operation.
He also said the kidnappers were still within the Oyo Forest at the time of the rescue, noting that security forces acted swiftly to encircle the area and prevent the relocation of the victims to the Kainji Forest, which he described as the group’s base.
He argued that the quicker response helped prevent a more prolonged and difficult rescue situation, unlike the case of Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction.
